Owen Otter’s River Activity Workbook
NIEA Biodiversity Activity Book
For Pre-School/KS1 Pupils
Northern Ireland
Environment
www. ni-environment.gov.uk
Name:
Agency
Teacher notes.
Education and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Life on our planet = Biodiversity!
Biodiversity simply means the total variety of life on our planet. The state of the world’s
Biodiversity was the central focus at the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development that was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. 156 countries signed an
agreement at this conference to conserve the earth’s Biodiversity. Northern Ireland has
a great level of Biodiversity, with many different habitats and 22000 species that we can
name so far!
N.I.E.A (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) believe that it is vitally important to educate
people about their planet’s Biodiversity and how it is important in terms of the quality of
their daily lives. Obviously the word ‘Biodiversity’ can appear large and is too difficult a
term and concept for KS1 pupils. Despite this we feel that through this series of Biodiversity
Activity booklets even very young children can begin to focus on certain creatures, plants
and habitats that are important to their local Biodiversity while at the same time covering
important curriculum components. This will hopefully mean that when they encounter the
word ‘Biodiversity’ and the greater details of the concept at a later age it will not be such a
problem for them, having already encountered the term and studied many basic elements
of the concept when they were younger.
Books available in this series:
Harry Hare’s Field and Farm Biodiversity Activity booklet.
Nessa Newt’s Wetland Biodiversity Activity booklet.
Owen Otter’s River Biodiversity Activity booklet.
Sarah Seal’s Coastal Biodiversity Activity booklet.
For more information on these topics or to locate more copies of our resources contact:
The Education Manager
Corporate Communications
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Gasworks Business Park
Lower Ormeau Road
Belfast BT7 2JA
Tel: 0845 3020008
Copyright: Crown copyright
3
Here is your very own chart for you to record how well you have done.
Put a tick or a stamp in the space when you finish a page.
1
I know what an otter is.
2
I know some facts about otters.
3
I can answer questions about otters.
4
I know what a river is.
5
I know the main rivers in Northern Ireland.
6
I know where a river might start.
7
I know where a river might end.
8
I can tell what creatures live in the river.
9
I guessed some river creatures from the clues.
10
I coloured a Kingfisher.
11
I can name the bird.
12
I know the names of baby river creatures.
13
I can spot the difference.
14
I know why we should look after rivers.
15
I’ve been through the mink maze.
16
I can draw river creatures.
17
I can tally.
18
I’ve done the wordsearch.
19
I can dot to dot.
20
I can dot to dot.
21
I’ve made an otter mask.
4
Hello my name is Owen and I am an Otter. Welcome to my book on rivers. It
is full of things for you to see and do. I hope you like it.
5
Fun Facts About Otters …
• Otters like to live in rivers and sometimes at the seaside.
• We love to catch and eat fish. If I am at the seaside I sometimes catch and eat crabs.
Sometimes otters like to eat water birds, voles and even frogs!
• Otters love to play and we love to swim.
• Otters have webbed feet and a very strong tail to help us move really fast through
the water.
• Otter fur is oily and this keeps us dry and warm when we are swimming.
• Otters like to come out at night and we usually sleep in the day in our home. It is
called a Holt.
• Baby otters are called cubs.
Otters are very special creatures but some people have tried to hunt us and so there are
not as many otters now as there were years ago. There are now laws to protect otters
from anyone who might try to harm us. This means that hopefully soon there will be as
many otters as there used to be.
Do you know that otters can close their ears and nostrils when they dive under the water!
Can you close you ears and your nose?
6
Questions About Otters. How Much Can You Remember?
1. Name 2 places where otters might live?
_______________________________________________________
2. Name 3 things that otters can eat?
_______________________________________________________
3. What is 1 thing that otters love to do?
_______________________________________________________
4. What is special about otter feet?
_______________________________________________________
5. What do otters have to help them move really fast through the water?
_______________________________________________________
6. What is special about otter fur?
_______________________________________________________
7. Do otters like to come out in the daytime?
_______________________________________________________
8. What is an otter’s home called?
_______________________________________________________
9. What is the name for baby otters?
_______________________________________________________
10. What 2 bits of their bodies can otters close when they
dive under the water?
_______________________________________________________
How many
did you get?
7
What is a River?
Have you ever seen a river? Where did you see it?
A river is full of water. The water in a river is not the same as the water that you get in the
sea. Sea water is salty but river water is fresh. It is a bit like the water that comes out of
the taps in your house.
Here is a picture of a river. Can you label the different parts of the river? Use these words;
water, channel, river bed, river bank, stones and pebbles.
Here are some sentences to help you:The water in the river flows in the channel.
The bottom of the river is called the river bed
The sides of a river are called the river banks
Many animals like to have their homes in the river bank. This is where otters have their
homes. Can you remember what an otter’s home is called?
8
Rivers
Here is a map showing the main rivers in Northern Ireland. Can you unscramble the
letters to find out the names of these rivers?
Can you put a dot on the map where you think your school is?
1. angLna
2. yoFle
3. nerE
2.
1.
3.
Which of these main rivers is your school closest to?
_______________________________________________________
Can you find any smaller rivers that are nearer to your school?
_______________________________________________________
What are the names of these smaller rivers or streams that are close to your school?
_______________________________________________________
9
Where Do Rivers Come From?
High up in the mountains rain falls from the clouds, the rain water runs into lots of little
streams.
These streams flow down the mountains and get bigger as they get lower down the hills.
A river is formed when lots of these small streams meet each other and all the water from
the streams joins together to make the river.
Can you label the picture to show how rivers form? When you have finished you could
colour the picture in.
Use these words to help you label the drawing:cloud, rain, mountain, stream, river
10
Where Does the River End?
Where do you think the river flows to? All that water has to go somewhere.
There are some different places that rivers flow to, can you think of any?
_______________________________________________________
Some small rivers meet other small rivers and make a bigger river. Some rivers flow into a
pond. Some rivers flow into a lake. Some rivers flow into the sea.
Can you find out any differences between rivers, ponds, lakes and the sea?
In Northern Ireland we have the largest, fresh water lake in Europe. It is right in the
middle of our country and it is called Lough Neagh.
Can you colour Lough Neagh blue?
How close is Lough Neagh to where you live?
_______________________________________________________
11
Would I Live in a River?
Can you put a circle round the creatures that you could find in a river?
Can you put a square round three animals that you would find in a wood?
Can you put a triangle round two creatures that you would find at the coast?
12
I Live in the River
Lots of different types of creatures live in the river. Can you read these clues and see if
you can guess what creatures they are describing? There are some pictures on the page
to help you guess.
I am a bird. I have very brightly coloured
feathers. My back is blue and my tummy
is orange. I love to eat fish. I make a noise
that sounds like ‘chee’ ‘chee’.
I am a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I am a mammal. I have waterproof fur and
webbed feet to help me swim. I am
nocturnal. I love to play and swim in the
river. I eat fish. I can close my nostrils
when I dive under the water.
I am an _ _ _ _ _
I am an amphibian. When I am fully grown
I have four legs and breathe air. My life
starts as a tiny black spot surrounded by
jelly. When I am fully grown I am very
good at swimming and jumping. I make a
croaking sound.
I am a _ _ _ _
I am a fish. I hatch in the river but when
I am older I move to the sea. I can grow
until I weigh 32kgs. I sometimes eat other
fish. I can jump up to 3.7m high. Otters
like to eat me.
I am a _ _ _ _ _ _
13
Colour by Numbers
Hello my name is Keith and I am a Kingfisher. I live on the river and eat fish. I am a special
bird as I am very colourful. I am bright blue and orange. Why don’t you colour me in?
The numbers will let you know which colours to use.
1
2
5
3
1
2
4
1 = Blue
1
2 = Orange
3 = White
4 = Black
5 = Brown
14
Name that Bird!
Many different birds live on or near the river. See if you can name these ones
M______
K_________
D_____
H____
T_____ ____
S___
A male M________________has a green head.
This bird has an orange breast K________________.
This little bird has a white throat and brown head D_________________.
This bird has a very thin, long neck H_____________________.
This bird has a black tuft of feathers on its head T_________________.
15
Animal Families
Baby animals often look very different to their parents. Can you draw a line to match up
the baby river animals with their mum?
16
Spot the Difference
Some very naughty people put things in our rivers that should not be there! Can you
spot the six differences between the top picture and the bottom picture. One difference
has already been marked to show you what to do.
A lot of these things in the river are pieces of litter. Can you name three pieces of this
litter that could be recycled?
17
Why Should We Look After Our Rivers?
There are lots of reasons why we should look after our rivers and make sure that they are
kept clean. Here are some people to tell you what they think about rivers. Can you draw
a line to join the person to what you think they might have said?
If we are careful, rivers
can be great places to
have fun! People use
rivers to go boating,
waterskiing and fishing.
Rivers are full of water.
We need this for drinking,
washing, cooking and lots
of other things.
There are lots of animals
and plants that live in
rivers. We do not want
to destroy their homes.
Rivers are beautiful places
to visit. They can be very
peaceful or after a lot of
rain they can be wild and
loud.
18
The Mink Maze
Mink are animals that were brought from America to Northern Ireland. They used to be
farmed for their fur but now they roam wild in Northern Ireland. They have a brown coat
with white spots or patches under their chin. They are much smaller than otters. Mink
are good swimmers and fierce hunters. Follow the maze to find out what mink like to eat
for their dinner!
By the way make sure you check all the paths through the maze, Mink like to eat more
than one type of food!
19
Your Turn to Draw
Here is a river, can you draw in some of your favourite animals that you have learned
about in this book?
20
Tally Marks
Tally marks show us how many
Number
1
2
3
4
5
Tally Marks
Look at the river. There are lots of different creatures in it. Count how many of each
creature you can see and make tally marks for them.
What is it?
How many?
Tally marks
2
II
Mink
Otter
Trout
Dragonfly
Duck
21
Wordsearch
Can you find all the hidden river creatures in this wordsearch?
Otter, Mink, Fish, Eel, Dragonfly, Newt, Kingfisher, Frog, Duck, Swan.
Colour in the words when you find them
N
E
W
T
Z
P
S
W
A
N
A
E
V
R
D
U
C
K
O
D
G
L
K
D
R
R
J
I
T
P
E
R
S
P
A
S
F
I
S
H
A
F
R
O
G
F
G
Z
O
T
Y
Z
M
R
O
H
R
X
T
U
G
O
I
V
N
K
S
C
T
E
K
I
N
G
F
I
S
H
E
R
J
F
K
K
L
L
H
T
R
L
F
B
L
T
Y
N
I
I
Y
H
22
Dot to Dot
9
10
16
15
14
17
13
18
19
20
21
22
12
11
6 5
7
8
1
2
3
4
Join the dots to see who is swimming in the river
23
Dot to Dot
9
19
18
20
21
22
23
16
24
25
12
26
24
15
13
14
17
11
10
27
5
6
28
7
29
8
4
3
2
1
Can you join the dots to reveal what river creature this is?
Otter Mask
Cut it out and then colour it in.
Certificate
Congratulations __________________________________
You have successfully completed Owen Otter’s river activity booklet.
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Gasworks Business Park
Belfast BT7 2JA
T. 0845 302 0008
www.ni-environment.gov.uk
Our aim is to protect, conserve and promote the
natural and built environment for the benefit of
present and future generations.